Asphalt spill on Highway 14 Sunday

A big-rig truck carrying hot liquid asphalt overturned on Highway 14 near the Sand Canyon Road turnoff, spilling its contents all over the roadway.

By Mike BodineSTAFF WRITERmbodine@ridgecrestca.com­

A big-rig truck carrying hot liquid asphalt overturned on Highway 14 near the Sand Canyon Road turnoff, spilling its contents all over the roadway. The spill took more than 16 hours to clean up, according to the California Highway Patrol.The initial call of an overturned big-rig came in at 9:48 p.m., on Sunday. The truck blocked the onramp to Sand Canyon and traffic was detoured. The westbound lane of Highway 58 was closed at 10:04 p.m. until the truck — with both tractor and trailer on its right side — could be lifted out of the way.According to the CHP incident report, the major issue with the tanker was being able to move it while it while still full. A representative from the CHP Mojave office said that approximately 50 gallons of liquid asphalt had leaked out onto the roadway. A commercial tow service arrived on scene at 10:16 p.m., stating it would need to assess whether or not the truck could be righted and towed, while still loaded. The tow company determined the truck needed to be siphoned and drained before it could be righted. A problem ensued of trying to find a company to siphon hot asphalt from a truck at 10:30 p.m., on a Sunday night in the middle of the desert.The CHP representative said the asphalt is shipped hot in the truck, at more than 300 degrees to prevent the mixture from hardening.The roadway reopened at approximately 10:24 p.m., but shortly after, the tow dispatch said it could not find a service that could siphon the material.Patriot Chemical was eventually contacted and the siphoning was still underway Monday evening.The CHP representative said there is bridge construction in the area of the incident. The rep explained there are road detours for the construction and it is possible the truck had difficulty in making the detour turns and tipped over as the truck's load shifted.There were no reports of any injuries or charges filed.